Willow Glen Extra (WGx) just reported (well, a couple of days ago—I was away from my computer this weekend) that Zanotto’s Family Markets is committed to opening a new store at the corner of Cherry and Foxworthy in Willow Glen. So despite challenges for the downtown Zanotto’s (which is under a slightly different ownership than Zanotto’s Family Markets), the small grocery chain is prepared to expand, and we’re finally seeing a development Metblogs’ own Joann Landers predicted, or at least hoped for more than two years ago.

I couldn’t make it to the unveiling ceremony I mentioned in a previous post, but I did stop by after work this afternoon to check out the new NASA images on display at the library.

I have to admit I’m underwhelmed. It turns out “mural size” was a slight exaggeration; in fact, a gross exaggeration. The image is about twice the size of the Bob Marley poster I had in my college dorm room.

On the other hand, the image is pretty cool, with different colors representing the view of the universe seen by three different NASA observatories. And the science is pretty interesting too: each of the component images tells us something different about the structure and history of the universe. So stop by and check it out when you’re downtown.

Sharyn Chan Namnath and Andrea Johnston painted this chalk mural, sponsored by the 13th Street Cats rescue group.

Today the Luna Park Business Association hosted the second annual Luna Park Chalk Art Festival in Backesto Park. At least a couple of dozen artists got together to paint sidewalk murals with chalk and pastels. The artists ranged from chalk art festival circuit riders Wayne and Cheryl Renshaw and well-known local muralist Paul J. Gonzalez, to enthusiastic high school and elementary school artists.

Meanwhile, accordionist Mike Zampiceni and dancers from Movimiento Cosmic Aztec provided entertainment, and North 13th Street restaurants served refreshments. The event drew plenty of visitors, and there was always a crowd admiring each of the artworks.

The Renshaw’s work was particularly fascinating as they used computer image manipulation to create an image with proportions adjusted to look natural when foreshortened by viewing from an angle. Viewed from most directions the image is distorted and surreal, but viewed from directly below their soccer playing figures become surprisingly lifelike and almost seem to stand out from the sidewalk.

Soccer player mural by Wayne and Cheryl Renshaw

When I’m going out to eat, I love Thai food. I love the spicy stir-fries, red and green curries, and the noodle dishes. When I’m with my vegetarian girlfriend we love all the options without meat. Thai restaurants also tend to notch up the decor and service compared to other restaurants in the same price range. And downtown San Jose is developing a serious concentration of Thai restaurants, with at least three new places opening up downtown and nearby over the last year or two.

Sa-By Thai (346 E. William St.) I decided to do this post after eating at Sa-By for the first time in a year or more. Sa-By is kind of a student hangout, but since I was there last they have cleaned up considerably. They removed a loud and annoying karaoke machine, and brightened up the dining area. The servers now wear Sa-By polo shirts instead of whatever they wore to class that day. The food here is light and spicy, with some interesting choices on the menu. And the prices are still low compared to the other restaurants I’ll include here.

Thepthai (23 N. Market St.) and House of Siam (151 S. Second St.) are probably the two longest-established Thai restaurants in downtown. Once in the last year I tried Thepthai, and it was fine. But, I rarely eat at either of these because they don’t have as many vegetarian choices as other nearby Thai restaurants.

Hanuman Thai Cuisine (1 E. San Fernando St.) is a relative newcomer to downtown, opening maybe a year ago. On my first visit I found the food fresh, spicy, and flavorful. On later visits, the recipes seemed to have changed. I guess they are (or were) still experimenting with the menu. Given the relatively high prices, I haven’t been back in the last few months to see if they’ve settled on flavors I’d really enjoy.

Tee Nee Thai (1423 The Alameda) is also relatively new, and probably the priciest of these restaurants (but still tending to $20 or less per person). The food is excellent, but the highlight for me is their extensive list of Belgian trappist beers, which go amazingly well with spicy Thai dishes. Be prepared to wait for a table if you show up on Friday or Saturday night with no reservation.

Blue Mango (635 Coleman Ave.) I haven’t been yet to this new outlet of a perpetual “Best of” winner from West San Jose. I have been to the Stevens Creek location many times, and its a great lunch place, though the menu is fairly narrow at dinner time. Probably all that “Best of” hype raised expectations a little too high, because Yelp! reviews for the new site are not super enthusiastic.

Did I miss your favorite spot for Thai near downtown? Got an opinion about one of these places? Let us know in the comments!

Vietnamese-American marchers came to the county building to seek a grand jury investigation into the death of Daniel Pham.

I only saw this because I drove by as the event was winding down. But according to the Merc’s report, these marchers are requesting the county to open a grand jury investigation into the police shooting of Daniel Pham this past May.

Bachelder 'Dutch Boy' tiles were reproduced as part of the restoration of the Rotary Ryland Pool.

Near-downtown residents got together today to celebrate the completion of historical restoration work on the Rotary Ryland Pool at Ryland Park in the Vendome neighborhood. Vendome Neighborhood Association president Tina Morrill presented restored tilework on the pool, as well as educational signage, a commemorative plaque, and a new sign for the entry to the pool.

The pool was originally built in the 1920’s, featuring the Batchelder “Dutch Boy” tiles around its perimeter wall. These tiles were later painted over, probably in the 1970’s. What’s worse, to make the paint adhere better, the tiles were sandblasted, eliminating their original glaze and much of their relief pattern.

In 2006, when the city of San Jose wanted to close the pool, the public outcry, massive efforts by a small group of volunteers, and $1.4 million in funding came together to save it. The pool reopened last summer, but the historical restoration work continued over the past year.

Reproduction Dutch Boy tiles were produced from a mold taken from a 1920’s era Batchelder tile found at an out-of-state antique tile dealer. A commemorative plaque was installed, recognizing the contribution of the Rotary Club in donating the original pool and funding the recent restoration work. An education placard was also posted, explaining the restoration proces, and also hopefully making the point that historic resources should not be treated as cavalierly as the pool and its tiles once were. Finally, a new sign was added at the entry to the pool, designed by Northsider Sonya Lu and fabricated by Brian’s Welding, just down the street from the park.

The new entryway sign at Ryland Pool.

We pay for those “free” bags in numerous subtle—but substantial—ways. Since grocery stores spend billions of dollars for single-use bags in the U.S., a share of those costs undoubtedly find their way to consumers in the form of higher food prices. Waste haulers and recyclers in San José suffer repeated breakdowns when the plastic bags become lodged in their digesters, requiring manual removal that forces them to shut down machinery several times a day. As rate payers, we pay for those additional labor costs on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. In a myriad of ways, we also pay for the litter resulting from the thoughtless disposal of these bags, the most obviously through the cost to taxpayers to dislodge and clean the bags from clogged outfalls, sewers, and streams. In addition to these costs, we face the challenge of reducing the bags that are filling our landfills as we try to move toward “zero waste” strategies to address our lack of landfill space.

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Plastic bag recycling has several limitations. It’s not easy for consumers to know which kinds of plastic can be recycled, and any food debris or other contaminants will make the plastic undesirable for recyclers. Market realities also make it challenging; as reported in the Christian Science Monitor (March 29, 2007, “Seldom Recycled”), it costs $4,000 to process and recycle one ton of plastic bags, which can then be sold on the commodities market for $32. Where recycling often requires heavy taxpayer subsidies, it’s better to keep the product out of the waste stream rather than spinning our wheels in quixotic recycling efforts.

And not only are the costs of keeping the disposable bags high, the inconvenience of doing away with them is really minimal.

Travelling in Europe last year, I got to see how a bag ban could work in practice. In Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic I never saw a grocery store give away a bag, but it was no problem. The key is one thing that doesn’t seem to have caught on here yet: re-usable plastic bags. Much heavier-duty than the current disposable bags, they could still be folded up and kept in your pocket. They cost only about 25 cents each, and lasted through dozens of grocery trips.

There’s still a few hurdles before San Jose truly goes disposable-bag-free, but the city council deserves kudos for setting this in motion.

White on Rice will appear at Camera 3 starting Friday, September 18.

A few months ago, I mentioned the film White on Rice, which headlined the San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival’s San Jose presentations. Now the film is back, booked for a one week run at the Camera 3 in downtown San Jose.

The film is about a 40-year-old guy who’s recently gotten divorced and moved in with his sister, where he’s sharing a bunk bed with his 10-year-old nephew. He refuses to grow up, but still hopes to find the perfect replacement for his departed wife. All the reviews I’ve seen say it’s really funny.

Even better, with a special coupon you can download from the San Jose chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League, proceeds from your attendance on the opening weekend will benefit JACL. The coupon is only good Friday through Sunday, and it doesn’t change the price of your ticket, but it does redirect part(?) of your ticket payment to JACL, to support their educational, civil rights, and cultural programs.

• What: Film screening benefitting San Jose Japanese-American Citizens League
• When: starting Friday, September 18
• Where: Camera 3 Cinema, 288 S. Second St., San Jose.

KFJC is celebrating the station’s 50th Anniversary with various activities including the Live Broadcast and Penny Pitch at Streetlight Records in San Jose Saturday September 5 from 1:00 to 6:00 pm.

Like a number of college radio stations, KFJC 89.7 fm, has a play most anything format, very unlikely you will hear the same thing over and over.

The Live Broadcast and Penny Pitch at Streetlight Records kicks off KFJC’s fundraising season; so, bring your change and dump it into the change bucket. There will be free food and drinks. Live KFJC DJs followed by live music from Chen Santa Maria (4:00 pm).

Live KFJC DJs:

1:00 pm – Robert Emmett
2:00 pm – SAL 9000
3:00 pm – Anubis
4:00 pm – Cadillac Margarita
5:00 pm – Mitch Lemay

Streetlight Records
980 South Bascom Avenue, San Jose

Saturday, September 5, 2009
1:00 pm to 6:00 pm